Duplantis Dialog

We live in Angola, Africa and are volunteers with the Evangelical Medical Center of Lubango, Angola or CEML(Centro Evangelico de Medicina de Lubango) serving at Cavango Mission, (50kms from the source of the Okavango River) in Community Health and Development.
We serve with Advancing the Gospel in Angola, Inc.(AGA)
25 Maple St, Addison, NY 14801. Account #01002. You may also visit www.hopeforangola.org(see links)to make donations.

8/03/2012

After 5 months and 10 days away, over 22,000 miles traveled(air and ground) and some 30 different beds slept in, we are finally home in Cavango! Kids came pouring out of their huts, running to greet us and yelling "Cili Wino! Cili Wino!" (Peter's tribal name that means "it is good") bringing tears to our eyes as did the bear hugs we received upon getting out of the vehicles. It was a warm welcome home!

Today we have spent catching up on the news of the mission and clinic and we are told all is well. We had been warned not to expect too much from the clinic as one of the main nurses had to leave in June, but instead of bringing the clinic down it seems to have caused the remaining staff members to pull to together and carry on with renewed vigor and they have seen even more patients! A quick reveiw of the statistics today shows that they registered 60 patients for July and a few months ago they were only getting about 10, so that is a huge blessing! With the "bad apple" out of the barrel it seems that there is hope and vision and the patients even sense it. Please do pray for us as we want to start some weekly community outreach clinics for maternity and children, and include an evangelistic outreach with this, so no doubt there will be increased spiritual warfare.

Praise, too that we found all our "personal" interests in order too - the dog, the cats, the house, the garden are all doing well having had the very good care of Tio Isaque - or Uncle Isaac - who agreed to be the "guard" while we were gone. He is a huge blessing - trustworthy and hardworking - so praise the Lord for him as well.

Well - that's just a quick catch you up! Thank you for your part in all that we do - I wish you could get to see the delightful happy faces greeting you too!

Reaching the poor and needy of central Angola for Christ by providing logistical support for Church and Clinic ministries through hospitality, transportation, education and services, by raising awareness of their need, and by raising funds for projects.

6/27/2012

It's hard to believe, but we leave for Africa on July the 2nd - less than a week away! We covet your prayers in the last visiting, collecting of necessities and packing, as well as for safety and smooth travels. We are so blessed to have so many praying friends and feel God's Peace and Presence in these last few days.

We had a great trip all around the eastern portion of the US and into Canada returning to Greensboro on the 7th of June. These last couple of weeks have been busy with an A.G.A Board meeting, a birthday party for my sister, Sheila, shopping, a wedding in the mountains and lots of visiting! We still won't manage to see everyone, but we have had many Divine encounters certainly in response to the daily prayers to have our steps directed by Him. We have had a few pledges made - Yay!! but still would love to see more come in before we return....However we know it's really not our problem - it's God who takes care of all our needs!

We haven't heard any news from Cavango since we've been gone - so we trust that no news is good news. Please continue praying for the Pastor and the Clinic staff as they try to keep plugging away - that they won't "tire of doing good". We are looking forward to getting back there but it probably won't be until the end of July as we have a conference to attend in mid July.

Again, we thank the Lord for you and your faithful prayers and support! We definitely couldn't be there without YOU - our "team" - behind us!!

Reaching the poor and needy of central Angola for Christ by providing logistical support for Church and Clinic ministries through hospitality, transportation, education and services, by raising awareness of their need, and by raising funds for projects.

5/26/2012

We are currently in Westfield, Indiana - just north of Indianapolis. We are about half way through our "tour" of family, friends and supporters that reside outside of North Carolina and it has been a wonderful time of fellowship and encouragement all along. We have really appreciated this time of getting to know so many of you better. We have a much greater understanding of the sacrifice so many of you make to support us and other ministries and that has been very humbling. We also have a greater understanding of the difficulties many of you face these days in North America - financial, political, social, not to mention the Church. It has given us much "food" for prayer. Please continue to share your prayer needs with us as we want to be a part of your team as you are a part of ours!

Some of you are new to our "team" and these updates, and some of you have been receiving them for so long you have forgotten how it all started - so attached to this email is a pdf flier that tries to summarize the history of and work at Cavango Mission......

Specific Prayer requests for us for these next few weeks:

1. Continued safety in travel

2. That we would be a blessing to friends and family as we continue visiting

3. For Dr. Bob Foster's Memorial Service on June 3rd in Brantford, Ont to be glorifying to the Lord.

4. For A.G.A.'s Annual Board Meeting on June 9th in Greensboro - for unity and clarity of vision

6. One time gifts to meet need for a new vehicle....( still need 40,000USD)

7. Project needs - motorcycles for pastors(1000USD can get a new motorbike for a rural pastor), continuing construction and development of church, clinic and house, as well as micro-enterprise projects.....(let us know if you would like any more info about any of these)

Donations can be made by check made out to, A.G.A. Inc and mailed to, 25 Maple St, Addison NY 14801 with Acct 01002 on the memo line or mention a key word of any of the one-time projects. You can also donate online by going to the website www.hopeforangola.org and clicking on the "just give" icon and following the directions and choosing Duplantis from the scroll down menu.

Reaching the poor and needy of central Angola for Christ by providing logistical support for Church and Clinic ministries through hospitality, transportation, education and services, by raising awareness of their needs, and by raising funds for projects.

4/23/2012

Well, you all know that "time flies when you're having fun" so we must have been having lots of fun because we cannot believe how fast the last month has flown by! We've been resting, reading, visiting, eating and shopping and somehow the days have zipped by almost without our noticing, but we have been encouraged!

We've been encouraged by your words and interest and continued support and prayers. We have been encouraged by Peter's continued good health - he says he feels back to 100%! We've been encouraged by worshipping and hearing the Word in English! We've been encouraged by a generous gift that gets us well started on what we need to purchase a new vehicle to continue our ministry in Angola.

We've also been feeling daunted. Daunted by the finances still needed - both regular monthly committments and one-time gifts for the previously mentioned vehicle. Daunted by the size of the task before us in Cavango - the endless needs, the amazing opportunities, the struggle to not be overwhelmed by daily living! Daunted by trying to share what the GOD of the Universe is doing in a very small corner of it called Cavango and in our very small lives and hearts!

Daunted but not dismayed! We know He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine!(Ephesians 3:20) Today, I was convicted by this thought from Jesus Calling - "Walk with me in holy trust, responding to My initiatives rather than trying to make things fit your plans. I died to set you free, and that includes freedom from compulsive planning.....A mind preoccupied with planning pays homage to the idol of control......Listen to me and live abundantly!" I am a "planner" and like to "know" what is going on....Ha! So I need your prayers for me to listen to God and not my "plans" that I may radiate His Joy and Peace!

Ironically this next paragraph is about our plans but we know that they are all in His control! We plan to leave on Weds, April 25, and return to Greensboro around June the 7th. We will be in Louisiana for just over two weeks to visit many of our Duplantis' family and then we head up through Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania to visit many of you! If you live in those places and you don't know about our coming then let us know and we'll see if we can't work something out! We'll be going over 3500 miles in 7 weeks! Pray for "Scarlett" - the little red VW bug that has been graciously loaned to us - it is adorable and we love it, but it has a lot of work ahead of it!

3/21/2012

It's hard to believe, but we have been in the US already for two weeks today!! It's been a busy time of visiting, getting on to the right time zone and appointments, but we are glad to be here and looking forward to getting to see many of you! Our airline travels went well, we have a lovely place to stay in Greensboro and we just came back from Alabama picking up the car that has been loaned to us for the time we have here. Our daughter, Jasper, very graciously loaned us her car for these first two weeks so that was also a huge blessing.

We plan to be here in Greensboro, NC until mid April or so and then we hope to start a long trip going to Louisiana to visit family and friends there for a couple of weeks and then wending our way up through Alabama, Tennessee, Kentuckey, Indiana, Michigan and then into Ontario, Canada and back down through New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and home again! Please pray for these many miles and the many visits and conversations that we would be encouraging and a blessing to all that we meet. Also pray for all the logistics of our travels to work out and that the car we have been loaned will stay well for all that distance!

Our phone number is 336 543 7701(mobile). You can text us or call!

Other prayer requests: For Cavango - for the health of our colleagues, spritual growth for them (and us), for the clinic and the house to be safe (and, personally, for our dog and cat too?!), for the pastor to have daily wisdom and strength for all that is required of him.